Kurayami's Log AC 113
by Kurayami Shikaku
Summary: A pseudo-noir interpretation of a journal written from the perspective of my character in the Animal Crossing world. Originally written to be part of a series, but uploaded as a one shot.


When I stepped outside through my front door I was met with a face full of sun. What a difference a day makes, huh? I had wandered the town at length just yesterday and hadn't seen so much as a glimmer of sunshine through the overcast skies. Oh well, I'm not complaining; I'd much rather bask in the warmth of the glowing sun this time of year than wander the lonely countryside embraced by the cool autumn air.

First thing was first – I was expecting a sizable shipment of furniture and miscellaneous items today from Tom Nook, the only merchant in town. Despite the fact that we got off on the wrong foot last year when I first moved in – hell, that's an understatement; he bought a house for me without my consent and then transferred the debt to my account – I had, reluctantly, grown quite fond of the Raccoon (well, Tanooki, but I often call him Raccoon as a sort of endearing slur). He's renovated my house several times in the past year, and even rewarded my loyalty with platinum customer status in his shop – something that gets me an excellent discount on all his merchandise. Pair that with the fact that I can pawn anything off on him for a quick bell, and I won't shop anywhere else ever again. Say what you will about his unorthodox approach, but Nook is one stellar entrepreneur.

I wandered over to my mailbox and found it stuffed to capacity. Sometimes I wonder how Pete manages to fit so much shit in there, but I guess he has plenty of experience; he's been the whole town's mailman for as long as I can remember. It took me a little while to cart all of the stuff into my house, and even longer to situate it how I wanted. I have a reputation as a self-made bellionaire to uphold, after all, so I don't want my house looking like a raggedy mess.

When I finished with the furniture, I made my way over to the armoire and removed one of the axes I kept in there. I had an appointment with a certain goddess at the fountain, so I wasn't about to leave the house without it.

The fountain is just west of my house, which happens to be situated at the very northeast corner of town, but I have to head south to cross a bridge because of the river that winds right through the heart of Motown. It's a path I am familiar with, and before long I was staring into the sparkling water of our town's fountain. Without hesitation, I grabbed the axe and flung it into the fountain, spraying cold water everywhere. Almost instantaneously, a brilliant light burst from the center of the fountain and molded itself into a fox-like figure before me. Serena might be a bitch, but she sure has style.

"First you mortals throw coins, and now axes? Who…"

She trailed off as she saw me. We've met several times before, and she knows what I'm after. If she'd just give me a golden axe, I wouldn't have to keep hurling sharp tools at her. Oh well, I'm persistent, and I think my heart can take her rejection more times than her head can take my axes.

"What kind of an axe did you throw in here anyway? Was it just a regular axe? A silver one? Perhaps a golden one?"

It was a test. She plays these games with me every time I try this. I've tried enough times to realize there's no right answer – she'll only give me the damn thing if she feels like it.

"It was just a regular axe, Serena."

"Honesty, huh? That's refreshing. Too bad you just threw an axe at me. I'm keeping this. Go away."

With that she disappeared, leaving me cursing under my breath – and sans one axe. Oh well, I can't say I wasn't expecting it. I'll just be sure to throw the axe at her extra hard tomorrow.

After my rage subsided enough to walk away from the fountain, I started heading southwest to Nook's shop. I try to make it there at least once a day to buy a new axe. As you can imagine, I go through them pretty quickly. That bitch Serena is almost never in a good mood, and I consider myself lucky if she gives me back the one I throw at her. That's another thing I like about Tom – he doesn't ask questions. You'd think a store clerk would start getting suspicious if you came into their shop everyday and bought a new axe, but not Nook. As far as he's concerned, what I'm doing with the things I buy from him is my business. I'm pretty sure he prefers not to know what I'm doing, in fact, just in case.

To my surprise, I found several mushrooms littered about the ground on my way to Nook's store. I stopped to pick them all up, too. If I know that crazy son of a bitch, he'll be ecstatic to get his hands on these. We're kind of similar in that regard – I don't know what he does with the things I sell him, and I don't care. As long as he's paying me a fair price for the product, he could be selling it to children the next town over for all care.

I was met with the usual, warm greeting when I walked through the automated doors of Nookway. I went right to the tool isle and picked up an axe before wandering over to Nook and talking to him about the mushrooms I'd found. We discussed the price in hushed tones, and before I could even complain that he was low-balling me, he'd offered me over 10,000 bells for the damn things. I gladly agreed, and left his store with a smile, a new axe, and 10,000 bells lining my bulging pockets.

I was feeling pretty content with the cash I'd just earned, so I started the long trek back home. Before long, I ran across some ground that looked like it had been recently turned up. I happened to have a shovel on me at the time, and curiosity quickly overwhelmed me. After a few moments, I managed to dislodge a hard, rocky structure from the ground. I didn't know what it was, but I had a feeling I knew a guy who would.

After pocketing the thing, I headed off to see Blathers, the curator of the local museum. He's an odd guy – sleeps all day, works all night; probably normal for an owl – but he knows his stuff. We have a bit of an unspoken deal between us. I bring him stuff from time-to-time to identify for me – paintings, fossils, and other crap – and if he doesn't have one in the museum already, I'll donate it. Of course, over time I've been able to pawn off more and more of these things at Nook's due to the museums swelling collection. It fetches me a beautiful bell too.

As I expected, Blathers was nodding off on the job again when I strolled through the front doors. I made my way over to him and give him a quick shake to make sure he was paying attention.

"Hey, Blathers, wake up. I have something I need you to take a look at."

"What? What is it?" He yawned, still shaking off the stupor of having just been roused from his slumber. I fished through my pockets for a moment before pulling the thing out, and I handed it over to him. He looked at it, turning it over in his hands for a moment before putting on his spectacles. After a few more moments, he had managed to brush away most of the dirt that was still clinging to it, and he turned back to me.

"It's a fossil – amber, actually. It's a nice find, and fortunately for both of us, you've already donated fossilized amber to this fine institution. Here you go."

He handed it back over, and I took it, shoving it haphazardly into my pocket. If it was still around after millions of years, I figured a little roughhousing wasn't about to ruin it.

"How much would it fetch me, do you think?"

"I'd say about 1,200 bells if you wanted to get rid of it quickly."

I knew what he meant by that – "get rid of it quickly" – if I wanted to pawn it off to Nook, that's what I should be expecting in return. I thought about it for a moment, but decided that I'd hold onto it – at least for a little while.

"Alright, thanks Blathers. Good doin' business with you. You can go back to sleep now."

The walk home was cold and lonely, but it only made the house that much cozier when I finally reached it. I rigged up a little display for the amber before plopping down on the couch and dozing off in front of the fire that crackled calmly in the fireplace. I'd done enough for the day – I needed my rest. After all, who knows what adventures tomorrow could bring?


End file.
